General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I agree completely with George Clooney [View all]chervilant
(8,267 posts)Cross-cultural analyses of existing data, literature reviews, and meta-analyses are all greatly facilitated by the plethora of research and data now posted on the internet. I concede that most online journals charge more than the GP can or is willing to pay, but one can spend time in the stacks of any reputable university. I much prefer the contemporary 'windows' version of SAS to the antiquated version on which I did my graduate research. Don't EVEN get me started about SPSSx!
I was a stats geek in graduate school specifically BECAUSE I recognized how easy it is for 'researchers' to create survey instruments that net the results they want, rather than the results they would have obtained with solid methodology (Babbie remains one of my fave resources regarding validity and reliability...)
BTW. I would never presume to achieve a random sample via the internet, for any type of research.